


welcome to war

by GhostWithAScythe



Series: For The Good Children Of God [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Aliens, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Blood and Injury, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Future Fic, Laser Guns, M/M, Mild Blood, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26358922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostWithAScythe/pseuds/GhostWithAScythe
Summary: Fighting a war on a foreign planet isn't easy. Especially, when someone you love gets hurt.
Relationships: Zak Ahmed/Darryl Noveschosch
Series: For The Good Children Of God [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896769
Kudos: 41





	welcome to war

**\- darryl's pov -**

I ducked behind the ruins of a wall that once belonged to a fancy and very high building - which was now gone entirely, destroyed by the P-14 grenades that rained down on the foreign city not too long ago. The "Doomed", as we soldiers called the fleet of small and fast space ships, were the first thing an opposing army saw from ours, and for a lot of them also the last thing they saw. Stacked with explosives, the fighters attacked the enemy standings, their cities and everything they could find, and at last crashed themselves in order to do as much damage as possible. Welcome to war. Almost forty-eight hours after explosions shook the foreign planet, the ground troops were fighting. My company was number 459-A and we were in the outer areas of the city, away from the front, hunting down some smaller groups of extraterrestrials who kept on sabotaging and attacking our main forces out of the blue, immediately retreating and disappearing somewhere afterwards.

I took a deep breath, adjusted my helmet and peaked above the crumbling wall behind me. Nothing. Not a sign of these strange, humanoid aliens. But they had to be somewhere around here. Sinking back against the dusty stone, I looked around the destroyed house. Everywhere I saw other soldiers of my troop hiding behind low walls and stones, waiting for our leader to give a command or for the enemy to finally do something.

This was always the worst part, in all of my years in the army, there never was anything worse than waiting for an attack. Luckily, we didn't stay much longer, some quick signs of our company leader ordered us too move forward and to the right, towards a smaller, but almost entirely intact building. I gripped my gun harder and got up, following my comrades as quick and quiet as possible. All my senses were on alert, I kept on scanning the black and blue and dusty surroundings over and over again, waiting for somebody to suddenly attack us. But nothing happened, all of us made it over to the house safely. We got inside, taking stands at the windows, entrances and the huge hole that formerly was the eastern wall. I sought shelter below a stairway leading up to a storey missing a roof, walls and at some places even a floor. A few others joined me, looking just as dirty and done as me in their formerly white and blue uniforms. We were all dusty and tired, awake for almost thirty hours with only a few naps. I was about time we found these aliens and sent them to hell.

I sighed, leaning against a pile of rubble. I didn't dare to sit down, we could be attacked at any time. So I tried to stay careful and awake, but I couldn't stop my mind from wandering as soon as I spotted a certain soldier across the room. Even with the helmet on he was easy to distinguish from the others since he had light cyan lines all over his chestplate, roughly forming a diamond. Zak. God, how I hated him. He was selfish and arrogant and most of the time annoying as hell and I couldn't do anything other than developing a huge crush on the guy.

Which was just great.

Of course, he did not know any of this - he'd probably laugh at me or ignore me even harder or just shoot me, who knows - and I'd rather fight a bunch of aliens bare handed than telling him. Also, we were in the army. Being openly gay was probably not my best shot at being somewhat respected by my comrades and superiors. I sighed, once again realizing my life could definitely go better. And then, suddenly, there were explosions and shouts and gun shots.

Frozen in shock I just stared at the scene playing out before me, adversarial troops attacking from everywhere at once and firing at us. _Surrounded, surrounded, trapped!_ , my brain supplied very helpfully, and _Bad, bad, bad! Get out!_

It took me another second to finally get my body to move, but then my instincts took over, adrenaline flushing my veins. I dropped to my knees, peaking around the corner of the staircase I was crouching beneath and aimed my gun. About a dozen of the aliens (it was hard to count them with their uniforms and their four arms) cornered a few of my comrades at the far side of the room, keeping them at bay with some sort of energy shields and almost transparent blue laser guns.

I shot one of them in the back, ripping through his light armour and sending the guy to whatever hell these people believed in. I landed a few other shots at limbs and heavier armour pieces, not really doing damage but distracting them. The group of aliens had to split up, half of them turning to face the new threat, the other half still shooting the trapped humans. I retreated to the safety behind my staircase as laser shots started hitting all around me, sending dust up in the air and making it impossible for me to attack them again.

I gritted my teeth. This was not good. 

I tapped at the control panel at my arm, opening up the communication channel, but all I heard was static. Dammit. We figured out quite early that human technology - especially communication - did not always work on this god damn planet. Suddenly, the firing stopped and I heard triumphant shouts. Quickly I peaked around the corner again and grinned. My distraction was enough for the trapped group to break the defence of their enemies, taking down the first line and attacking the rest who were still looking out for me. Zak was leading them and my stomach turned as I realized that he was one of the cornered people and would be probably dead by now if I had needed even longer to react. I cursed myself, but helped my comrades to take down the last remaining enemies and kept an eye out for more as they ran over to me. We all hid in the corner between wall and staircase for a few moments, catching our breath.

My eyes automatically scanned the soldiers for Zak and there he was, eyes visible trough the ventail of his helmet and shining in the excitement and fear every battle brought. And then he winked at me and smiled. My heart skipped a beat, I'm pretty sure, and I couldn't think for a moment.

I almost missed the signal to move, an older soldier I hardly knew taking the lead. We sprinted over the open space to the next room to join another part of our company, and for the next time - it felt like an eternity and also like no time passed at all - I got caught up in the rush and excitement of the battle. We fought for our own and our comrades lives, slowly but surely driving the aliens back. Most of my company was together again, fighting as a unit like we did dozens of times before, although I noticed with a sick feeling that quite a few people were missing. The extraterrestrials caught us by surprise, and some of us paid the price. Sometimes I spotted Zak, appearing in the chaos of soldiers and gun shots and disappearing again. I didn't have the time to look for him or follow and protect him like my heart screamed I should, but everytime I was relieved to see he was still alive. 

Until he suddenly was by my side.

I had to do a double take, but it was clearly him and I somehow felt like he did not end up here on accident. He winked at me, again, offering me a smile before determination took over his lovely features again and he aimed to shoot an alien running up to him. I forced myself to focus and after a few minutes we were fighting side by side smoothly, taking aim, ducking away, returning the fire and having each others' back, like we somehow just knew what the other was about to do. And even though we were on some strange planet, fighting aliens in a life and death fight, those were the best minutes if my life.

"Hey! Watch out!"

Surprised I looked up from my attempts to somehow sneak a shot around those stupid energy shields as Zak suddenly yelled at me. A second later he shoved me out of the way, the laser shot from the alien who sneaked up on us in the shadows barely missing me. I stumbled to the ground, hearing a gasp from behind me. I got up again, knees shaking and my heart racing - _holy hell, that was close!_ -, turned around and spotted Zak. My eyes widened in shock and I immediately dropped to the ground again, leaning over him, afraid to touch and hurt him.

"Hey, Zak, are you okay?"

"Ughh...", he moaned, blinked a few times and sat up. "Yeah, sure. I'm... fine."

I hesitated but helped him to his feet, stabilizing him as he staggered slightly. Thankfully, no-one was shooting us right now, with our comrades covering us up on an instant. "Are you sure?" I looked him over, the dust and scorch marks that laser shots left behind and the clearly human blood on his armour.

"Were you not hit?" Zak shook his head and freed his hand which I did not even realize I was still holding. "Not my blood, don't worry." He sounded hostile, somehow, and tense. I blamed it on the shock. However...

"These aliens don't bleed like that.", I pointed out, suspicious. "Also, thanks for saving my life.", I added, sheepishly looking to the ground.

Zak rolled his eyes, halfway turning away from me. "One of my mates was severely injured back in that corner, I tried to help him." He bit his lip, pain clear on his face for a second before he straightened his posture again. "And don't worry about the other thing. Not a big deal."

With that, he turned away, joining the slowing battle, leaving me behind. I stared after him for a second, confused, because _that_? That was weird.

Zak was probably the most selfish person I ever met - it's a miracle how he did so well in the army when you clearly need teamwork here - and him putting his life on the line to save mine was odd on his own, but then he played it off instead of bragging about it. The only thing bigger than his arrogance was probably his ego, so what the hell? I shook my head to myself. I'll never understand Zak. And who knows, maybe he'll brag about saving the little soldiers life later, when this battle was finally over.

Thankfully, it was already coming to an end, and we were winning. The aliens were retreating, slowly and with strenuous opposition, but retreating nonetheless. I stayed back for the rest of the fight, sniping the extraterrestrials from up the top of the staircase - the same as earlier, we somehow ended up here again - and watching Zak. Something was off about him. He was holding back, I could see that. Usually he was the first one to jump headfirst into any sort of fight but now...

 _'Not the time to muse about Zak!'_ , I scolded myself, concentrating on chasing the last few aliens away.

And then it was over.

Silence fell on the battlefield for a few heartbeats, as everybody was waiting and asking themselves _Is it really over?_ before the soldiers started shouting in triumph and glee, thankful to see another day but still mourning the ones we lost. It was a hard fight, but we won, and I let myself relax. Grinning in relief and delight, I watched my comrades celebrate, Zak somewhere with them, before the noise died down. Adrenaline slowly fading, exhaustion hit us all. But there was work to do.

This was the second worst thing in war: The silence after a battle - won or lost, it doesn't matter - and the battlefield itself, always a sign that, somehow, both sides lost. Our troop split in groups, some trying to establish a working communication, some helping the medics or collecting dead bodies, some preparing the arrival of the hovercrafts which will bring supplies, back up and new orders if the radio equipment wasn't working by then and take the wounded and dead with them.

I followed Zak - who's limping slightly how I noticed with worry - to our commander to get our orders. Along with a few other soldiers we were assigned to stay on watch at the door, windows and other holes in the wall. Zak and I took up position at a wide, partly broken window at the backside of the building. We weren't talking and I was fine with that, I just enjoyed the opportunity to sort my thoughts. I was tired and my whole body ached from various bruises and little cuts I didn't even remember getting, but the battle was hectic and with so much adrenalin in my blood I never feel wounds right away. I was lucky, though. I was alive, mostly unharmed and didn't lose anyone close to me. Others weren't as lucky.

A soft bump against my shoulder snapped me out of my thoughts. To my surprise it was Zak who stumbled into me. He was staring at me but not actually seeing me, and immediately all my worries were back.

"Hey, are you okay?", I asked softly, futilely searching for an indication in his eyes that he understood me. I stepped closer, grabbing his left arm to stabilise him since he was still staggering, even more than before. He blinked, focusing on me, and pulled his arm away. 

"I'm fine, leave me alone!", he hissed harshly and turned away abruptly. The sudden movement made him stagger again and this time, his legs gave way beneath him. Right before he hit the ground I caught him, at least slowing his fall.

I leaned over him, sick from worry. "Hey! Zak, what's wrong?"

Zak groaned and coughed, blood painting his lips red. My eyes grew wide. He _was_ injured! Frantically I scanned over his body and noticed how he tightly clutched his left side. Carefully I moved his hands away and gasped in shock. Fresh blood was slowly seeping from a nasty flesh wound at his side, where the chestplate hadn't protected him anymore. The wound didn't seem that deep, more like a graze wound, but only barely.

My blood ran cold as I realized when he must have gotten that wound. He took the shot for me.

Pulling myself together, I squeezed his shoulder with my hand to keep him awake. No time for guilt right now.

"Zak, you _did_ get hit! Why didn't you tell me? You need help." 

Zak made a terrible attempt at rolling his eyes and pushing away my hand. "I don't need your help! I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine!", I replied vehemently, reluctantly averting my eyes from him to tap on the emergency button on the control panel at my wrist, praying it worked.

"I'm fine, stop... stop this -", Zak tried to argue with me but I cut him off. 

"You're not fine!", I repeated. "You were shot, goddammit! You... you... fuck." I blinked, trying to get rid of the tears in my eyes. ' _Pull yourself together!_ ', I told myself. ' _Zak needs you now._ ' 

Zak groaned in pain, shivering slightly. He looked pale and sweat glistened on his forehead, but he still managed to put on an annoyed expression.

"Stop... making a... a big thing out of-", he hissed, cutting himself off with a cough.

Before I could answer I heard steps behind us and moments later there were people around us. Someone who I recognized as a medic pushed me out of the way. Anxious I watched as he spread out his first aid equipment and took Zak's pulse. Then he motioned me to come closer. 

"Take off his armour, but carefully. Don't move him too much." The medic's voice was neutral, concentrated. Somehow, that worried me even more. Gently I stripped Zak from his chestplate, biting my lips at the sight. His long-sleeved shirt was soaked with blood which slowly painted the ground beneath him red. The medic cut Zak's shirt open and started cleaning up the wound. I turned back to Zak. His eyes were dull and filled with pain, his gaze unsteady and flickering from spot to spot.

I gently cupped his face with my hand. "Hey, stay with me, okay?" No response, just the same distant stare.

Someone tapped my shoulder to get my attention. I let go of Zak and turned around, looking questioningly at the medic. 

"If he wants any chance in surviving this, I need to disinfect the wound. But...", he hesitated, before sighing and shaking his head. "I don't have any anesthetics anymore, so we have to deal without them." The doctor glanced at the injured man, but Zak was in no condition to listen to and understand any of what's going on, so he turned back to me. "That's going to hurt him, but it's necessary."

I nodded with mixed feelings. I really didn't want to hurt Zak, but it will help him in the end, right? Besides, I'm not going to argue with the medic. Picking out an antiseptic, said medic instructed me and another soldier to hold Zak down and as still as possible. So I moved towards Zak's head, grabbing his wrists and holding them firmly above his head. The other soldier fixated his legs and the medic got to work, soaking a piece of cloth with the antiseptic and pressing it on the wound without hesitation. Zak screamed in agony at the sudden burning pain, rearing up in an attempt to get away, but we held him in place, if barely. Surprised at his sudden strength I leant onto his arms with more weight, not letting go even though Zak's screams ripped me apart internally.

The seconds stretched to an eternity filled with guilt, although I knew I was helping Zak. I just couldn't stand seeing him in that much pain. By the time the medic was done I was convinced Zak was hoarse. Panting, he went all limp again. His eyes fluttered shut and he groaned quietly. Carefully I let go and flinched as I noticed the red marks I left on his wrists. They would surely bruise.

"Okay, looks as good as it can.", the medic spoke up. "I'll give you some gauze to stop the bleeding, that's all I can do for now. He needs to get a surgery but I can't do that here, we need to wait for the hovercraft." The doctor packed up his stuff and prepared to leave, giving me a white cloth and some last instructions. "Don't let him black out or fall asleep. Press this on the wound, I gotta go and help some others." 

With that, he left me and the injured man alone. The other soldiers already went back to their work. I picked up the white bandage and pressed it against Zak's side, drawing a pained whimper from him. At least I knew he was still alive and awake. I swallowed around the lump in my throat. 

"Zak, can you hear me?" I anxiously held my breath and counted my heartbeats. At six Zak opened his eyes.

"Yeah, I... can hear you." He looked down at himself. "It feels better now.", he murmured, shuffling around uncomfortably until I held him still with a firm grip at his shoulder.

"Don't move. You were pretty badly injured." I let go of him to bury my face in my hands and finally letting my tears flow. "God, Zak! Why? Why did you do that?" I looked up at him again, tears drawing stripes on my dusty face. "Why did you jump right I front me, you must have known you would get hurt!"

Zak avoided my gaze but opened his mouth to answer as a low rumble, quiet but steadily growing louder, made us both look up at sky. In the distance a large dark shadow appeared, nearing us with high speed. The hovercrafts!

Relieved, I turned back to Zak. "Just hold on a little longer, okay? Help's on the way."

Zak still didn't look at me. "I couldn't let you die.", he confessed quietly. "I just couldn't. I didn't think, I just acted."

I stared at him, confused. Zak was acting very strangely, did he even know what he was saying? What he was indicating? Because there was no way Zak actually cared about anyone, let alone me.

The deafening noise of the two hovercrafts stopping right above our base and landing at the front side of the house gave me a minute to think about my answer, but I wasn't any wiser by the time it was actually silent enough to speak again.

"Z-zak, are you okay?", I asked hesitantly as voices became loud behind us and I heard someone directing paramedics to people who needed help. They would be here soon.

He glanced down at his side and the bandage that was slowly getting soaked with blood and chuckled, which seemed to hurt since he stopped immediately and grimaced. "I guess I'm not okay, no." He looked right at me and his warm brown eyes wear as clear as ever, no sign of delirium or fever. "But you're okay. That's what matters."

I stared at him. "W- what?", I whispered, at a loss for words.

But I didn't get an answer.

Suddenly, people were all around us and I noticed two medics clad in bright orange with a gurney between them. I was pushed aside as they put some fresh cloth on Zak's wound and gently lifted him on the barrow, preparing to leave while simultaneously shouting into their communicators. I didn't hear a single thing. All I could do was stand there and watch as Zak was pushed away towards the hovercrafts where he would get actual medical aid.

The last thing I saw from him was his smile. It looked a little forced, a little pained, but he smiled. At me. Clutching the bloody piece of cloth I unconsciously kept, I promised myself to stay alive so I could wait for Zak. Because he would survive. He had to. He saved my life after all, and he still owed me an answer why.


End file.
